Chimera Saga: Forged Path
by Izumi Ryu
Summary: Bored with a life where he's unable to fit in, Daniel looks to discover his own future by finding anything that can challenge him.
1. Chapter 01: Boredom

Chimera Saga: Forged Path  
Chapter 01: Boredom  
By: Izumi Ryu  
Chimera Saga concept by: Theo 'Blitz' Leung  
Disclaimer: Pokemon characters, creatures, and settings belong to Nintendo, Game Freak, and others involved with the creation and promotion of the franchise. This is a fanwork with no intent of monetary gain. Original characters introduced in this story belong to the authors of the Chimera Saga collaborative series, in which the characters do require permission for use in other works.

* * *

Restless didn't even begin to describe Daniel. As much as he wanted to calm down, the boredom of living in a small town always annoyed him. Sitting and staring at another sheet of easy homework didn't help either, easy for him anyway. He doesn't think of himself as a genius by any stretch, but there are times he wished even his homework was harder. Sitting outside did nothing to ease him despite the warm day, just enough of a breeze to make it comfortable. He wanted something to happen so badly that he was tempted to go looking for trouble, something that was never good with him.

"Hey, asshole!" a child's voice called out. "What's wrong? Too retarded to get your homework done?"

Daniel took a peek at where the voice came from. A small gathering of his classmates stood out on the road in front of the house, giggling and pointing at him. Craig, the one that called David out, slowly walked up to him, his friends following closely behind. This wasn't what Daniel had in mind, but he shrugged it off and looked down at his assignment. With a couple of strokes of his pen, the assignment was finished.

The giggling continued among the boys that arrived. "Oh, look. He's too stupid to know he's being insulted." The boy apparently leading the kids said aloud, intentionally making sure Daniel could hear him. Daniel continued to ignore them, as well as the sound of footsteps on concrete.

While the group followed their leader, two or three looked around as if watching out for anything. He started to pick up his papers to put them away, but a hand slammed down on top of them, pinning the pages to the table. "Why waste the teacher's ink on a failing mark?" the 'leader' asked, his hand slowly curling as he started to crumble the paper.

Daniel wasn't really quick to anger, but these kids were baiting him for something. What? He didn't know, but either way, he wasn't going to fall for it. It didn't look like anyone was going to help him either though, so it was up to him to take care of things.

He slammed both of his hands down on the table. While Craig didn't look phased, several of the others looked terrified. Some were slowly backing away, as if he would go after them first if they ran too fast. He pushed off on the table, slowly standing up out of the chair. Before he stood straight up, you could tell he was taller than anyone of those kids. He also had a minimal muscular build, barely enough to notice. Daniel hadn't done any weightlifting or anything. Despite how lanky he looked, that minor build was enough to make him appear intimidating. Several more kids backed away, some of them running. Daniel hunched over as he stared into the eyes of the child. A silent breeze seemed to pass that moment as the two stared each other down.

"What?" Craig asked as the last of his friends left. He seemed quite confident and cocky, not realizing his 'back up' had abandoned him. He stood arms crossed before Daniel as if there was nothing the much bigger boy could do to him.

Daniel silently nodded, pointing out that the kid was no longer with his small army. Craig slowly turned around, now finding his friends had abandoned him. Now paranoid and knowing he stood no chance against his classmate, he decided to take his friends' cue and leave, running off.

Daniel looked over the paper, seeing the minor crinkles, but nothing he couldn't fix or at least improve. He just laid the paper down on the table and ran his hand across it to flatten it out. He wasn't too concerned with it otherwise. He just stuffed the papers in his backpack, ready for the next day.

"Craig and his goon squad bothering you again?" someone spoke up. Daniel looked up at Ryna, a girl he had been friends with for awhile. Strands of her long brown hair got blown by the minimal breeze. Her crystal blue eyes showed concern despite the fact that nothing happened of what she just saw.

"They're nothing that I can't handle," Daniel told her, turning back to putting his items back in his pack.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Ryna sighed not sure what to do. "Those guys aren't worth it."

"I figured that much," Daniel told her. "But what else am I going to do? They're just getting bolder."

Ryna nodded. Craig never listened to anyone. She guessed it came from being the principal's brat. The problem was Daniel's usual response to that, one that gave people the wrong impression of him. It's that response she was afraid of.

"Think we can talk?" Ryna asked, after a short stint of silence.

Daniel looked up for a moment at Ryna, who looked uneasy about something. He didn't think much about it though. "Sure. Think we can walk around a bit?" Daniel asked, wanting so badly to burn off this pent up energy.

Ryna nodded as Daniel walked up to her. Ryna turned as he approached her, walking down to the street side by side with the young man. Daniel could notice a bit of her tension, but let her lead where they went, even if they were to just wander aimlessly. You could see the light changing to a more orange tint to the light over the town. Very few people were out, as there weren't many people in this town to begin with.

Pallet Town's houses were just close enough for you to realize it was a community, but far enough away for it to keep its rural appearance. Despite it's small size, it was a popular place for starting trainers because of Professor Oak's lab, virtually the only 'commercial' building in the whole town. Because it was considered an honor just to start their journey by meeting the professor, more trainers pass through here than the actual population of the town. The lab looked like, a large farmhouse with a windmill behind it, up high on a hill where it could be seen from any home in town. The high tech machines inside the building and the massive range was home to numerous pokemon for both safekeeping for trainers and the professor's research.

Ryna looked down as she walked for a moment. "I know you don't think much of pokemon training, but I'm going to do it. I've already passed all of the tests."

"Good for you," Daniel told her, showing her a grin.

Ryna looked up in surprise at Daniel, expecting a different reaction from him. "But I thought..."

"Ryna, I have nothing against pokemon training. I know you'll do well," Daniel interrupted.

"Why don't you do it then?" Ryna asked. "I'm sure you will do great, too."

Daniel scoffed. "And follow every other idiot that thinks they can do what Oak and Ketchum have? Besides, even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be allowed."

Ryna didn't argue that last point. Daniel's reputation preceded him big time. That didn't stop her from making her wish she could bring him along. Ryna looked up at Professor Oak's lab. She didn't know why she had walked in that direction, probably hoping that Daniel would change his mind and at least try.

As they approached the outer fence line, they noticed several boys huddled in a circle near the fence. Daniel immediately recognized Craig's buddies. No one else was around, even any of the pokemon that usually filled the professor's fields. Usually, bored kids did the dumbest things possible, and Daniel knew this wouldn't be any different. "Ryna...over there..." David jerked his head towards the group. Ryna turned to look at the scene and immediately wanted to take Daniel away.

Then they noticed Craig and one of the others. Tyler, Daniel thought the name was. Tyler just looked like he was along for the ride while Craig seemed like he was on a mission. The crowd parted a bit when the two approached, just enough for Daniel to notice the Geodude they were holding down. Geodudes weren't common here, but they're crawling all over the mountains. Their round, rocky hide made it durable to most kinds of damage. That didn't mean it didn't have its weaknesses.

Craig and Tyler lifted the buckets up and tipped them forward, soaking the rock-type with the water it contained. Ryna looked on and covered her mouth at what just happened. They all had learned that rock-types had a weakness to water. Looked like these boys were bored enough to test that theory. Ryna resisted the urge to walk up to the boys and slap each and every one of them.

Daniel clinched his fists.

The boys started to laugh, egging the Geodude on in their torment. It looked quite annoyed but didn't move to attack them, as if trying to avoid hurting them. Daniel started to storm forward. Ryna reached out to grab Daniel's shoulder, but Daniel just slipped past her grip. Daniel was too determined to stop. "Go get Oak," Daniel told her. Ryna stopped for a couple of seconds before turning around and running for the lab. Perhaps she could get to the professor before too much was done.

Daniel approached the group silently but with purpose, stepping between two of the boys. "Nice one," Daniel remarked, his voice filled with sarcasm.

"Isn't it?" one of the boys next to him continued laughing. The other one stopped, realizing who had just shown up out of nowhere.

Before the boys next to him realized what was happening, they doubled over in sharp pain, Daniel's elbows had embedded themselves into their stomachs. Both of his fists whipped up, making a crunching sound as they slammed into their faces, making the bone in their noses snap. Then, he lifted his hands back and chopped down on the back of their necks, they dropped suddenly onto the ground, no longer conscious.

The other boys turned to look at Daniel, surprise turning into anger. "You're going down, Freak Show!" Craig yelled out, storming towards Daniel.

"So that's what you're calling me now," Daniel remarked as Craig approached him. He didn't waste time with Craig, punching him square in the face, blood started pouring out of his nose. Craig backed away, covering his nose with his hands.

The remaining boys closed in on Daniel fast. The first one's fist flew past Daniel's face, missing by inches as he cocked his head to the side. Daniel then grabbed the boy's arm with one hand and struck it hard with the other. Whether Daniel heard the crack or not, he didn't react as he flipped the boy up by that same arm, slamming him back first into the ground. He immediately grabbed his arm and writhed on the ground

The others suffered a fate not much better than their friend. Another crack could've been heard after Daniel ducked under another punch and replied with a solid punch to the boy's chest. That boy stepped back, clutching at his chest and his now cracked ribs. Daniel didn't waste time on the next attacker, his fist striking the side of the head hard enough to knock him to the floor. He remained on the ground unconscious. Tyler, the last of the boys, stopped, not wanting to end up like his friends. He ran away, screaming as if death itself was chasing him.

Daniel sighed, walking up to the Geodude. "You okay?" Daniel asked. The rock-type looked weak with all the water covering it and only groaned in response.

"Daniel!" Ryna called as she ran forward, catching up. Daniel looked around for Craig, who had disappeared amidst the struggle, probably to go whine to his parents over what happened.

"Daniel! What are you doing? Did you get into another fight?" an older man asked harshly. Daniel froze in dread at the sound of his voice, but quickly recovered.

Daniel simply replied, "Hello, Professor." It didn't take much for him to recognize Professor Oak's voice.

"Don't patronize me, Daniel. Look at what you did!" the gray haired man continued to berate him, his hands remaining in his lab coat's pockets.

Ryna was about to say something before Daniel cut in. "Let the doctors worry about those bozos." Daniel picked up the rock pokemon, not phased at all by the professor's tone. Daniel had been in so many fights that he was used to the routine. The Geodude clinged onto Daniel as if he was the only safe thing in the vicinity. "This guy, on the other hand, needs your help."

Professor Oak looked at it, widening his eyes at the condition it was in. "Craig and his goons decided to dump buckets of water on this Geodude." Ryna stepped up. "If Daniel didn't step in, he could be a lot worse."

The old man shook his head. "Come with me. We'll talk in the lab," the older man told him. "That doesn't get you in the clear either."

Daniel shrugged, not surprised he was being held under such heavy scrutiny. He followed the professor in the tense silence. Ryna kept pace with him, wanting to do more to defend Daniel. Daniel never planned to defend himself. He'd just explain what happened and accept his punishment as usual.

* * *

Daniel and Ryna waited silently in Oak's study, tension thick in the silent room. Daniel paced, his feet barely making a tapping sound on the tile floor as he waited for Oak to come in from looking over the Geodude. Ryna looked on, sitting in one of the two couches in the room. A couple of walls were covered by bookshelves, filled with various books, one of those shelves actually built in to a computer desk. The computer itself was the only sound as the fan went off, idling with a screensaver masking the professor's work.

"Daniel, sit down. I know this isn't fair to you, but..." Ryna finally broke the silence.

"What's 'fair' doesn't matter," Daniel told her. "I'm gonna get punished. I'd just rather it happen already."

Professor Oak walked in on cue, glancing at Daniel. Ryna sat up straighter while Daniel simply turned towards the old man. "The Geodude is fine now," the Professor told him. "He'll be fully rested by tomorrow."

Daniel and Ryna looked relieved. "So what is it now?" Daniel asked, expecting to here the bad news along with this.

"To be fair, if it were up to me, I wouldn't do a thing," the professor told him. Ryna seemed to relax and Daniel looked a little surprised. "But it's not."

"I figured as much," Daniel told him, the surprise quickly fading.

"You've been expelled from school," the professor told him.

"_What?_" Ryna practically shouted quickly standing up from the couch. Daniel hadn't been phased, as if he knew it was coming sooner or later.

"I was talking to the principal while I was looking after the Geodude, explaining everything to her. The principal wanted the incident dealt with quickly, and because this was a repeat offense with Daniel, she had every right to react the way she did," the old man continued, studying Daniel and his lack of a reaction towards his revelation.

"And what about why Daniel did it?" Ryna asked.

"That didn't matter. She didn't want to hear anything else," Oak told her with a shrug.

_Well, I _did_ beat up her brat, _Daniel thought to himself. "At least, I lasted longer than most people thought," Daniel sighed.

"Your future just got ruined and that's all you can say?" the Professor asked.

"What future?" Daniel asked harshly. "I had no clue what I was going to do. Even if I tried to start training pokemon, it's not like I would be allowed. As far as I'm concerned, I had no future to begin with."

Ryna looked at Daniel with surprise after his small outburst, catching a small glimpse of her best friend's hidden frustrations. The Professor wiped his forehead at this. "Did you really want to be a pokemon trainer?" the Professor asked, wondering about just what kind of person Daniel would be if he started out on such a prospect.

"I'm not sure," Daniel said, looking even more tense. "I don't know what I want. I just want to be pushed until I can find what I want. I don't care if I become as popular as your grandson or absolutely no one knows about it."

The professor studied the boy for a few moments, as if plotting something. "You two should go home, but Daniel, I want you to come here first thing in the morning."

David looked confused for a moment. "What for?"

"I just need some help," the Professor told him, which was half of the truth. He did need help, but he wanted to study the young man more. "Work's piling up with the next group of trainers about to start their journeys."

Daniel nodded, not really looking for it, but it's not like he had anything else to do. He dreaded the thought of staying at home now. His mother probably already heard about his expulsion, and she wouldn't be anywhere near as lenient as the old man.


	2. Chapter 02: Future in Limbo

Chimera Saga: Forged Path  
Chapter 02: Future in Limbo  
By: Izumi Ryu  
Chimera Saga concept by: Theo 'Blitz' Leung  
Disclaimer: Pokemon characters, creatures, and settings belong to Nintendo, Game Freak, and others involved with the creation and promotion of the franchise. This is a fanwork with no intent of monetary gain. Original characters introduced in this story belong to the authors of the Chimera Saga collaborative series, in which the characters do require permission for use in other works.

* * *

The professor was already awake as the morning light started to shine over the town, already looking over reports while his breakfast sat to the side. You could already hear wild pokemon already active around the town. Very few people were even up yet, those that were had already leaving for Viridian City, the nearest major city in the region. Otherwise, only trainers were coming into town and children were just waking up if they weren't still asleep.

That was when someone knocked on the laboratory's front door. The professor looked confused, not expecting anyone to show up this early. He even expected Daniel later than this. He got up from his computer and walked into the next room where the entryway was. When Oak opened the door, he saw Daniel standing in front. If it weren't for his eyes, you would almost miss how tired he looked considering he still carried himself normally. "Hello, Professor."

"Daniel? What's wrong? Did you stay up too late?" the Professor asked, obviously concerned by the boy's early arrival.

"Something like that," Daniel told him, being stubborn against his fatigue. He tried to avoid eye contact with the professor. "I'll be fine once I get going on chores."

The professor shook his head. He wanted to send the boy home to get some sleep, but something about Daniel's expression made him think that was a bad idea. As curious as the scientist was, he decided to ask later. "Alright, but grab some breakfast at least," the Professor told him, thinking that would keep him up better than the adrenaline the child seemed to be running on. "I've got some left in the kitchen, still."

"Thanks, Professor," Daniel accepted, the growling from his stomach only now reminding him he didn't have anything this morning.

Oak looked at the boy as he walked past him, wanting to ask what happened. He could tell something was wrong, but Daniel also held this look as if he didn't want to talk about it. _I can probably guess where the problem is coming from, but what happened?_ Oak asked himself.

Going back into the study, the professor went over to the video phone and called Daniel's mother, her image showing on the screen. She looked more tired than normal as she greeted. "Hello?"

"Hello, this is Professor Oak," he greeted.

"Oh, hello, Professor. If you're calling about what Daniel did, I..." she started.

"I'm calling about Daniel, but not about that. As brashly as he acted, he still did the right thing. I'm more concerned about him now. What happened after he got home last night?" he asked.

"Just forget it. I don't want anything to do with that...child," she told him, pausing on the last word as if she was trying to keep herself from using an expletive.

The professor didn't miss the pause in mid sentence. "Ma'am, he is your son. Why aren't you..."

"He's no son of mine. He never was," the lady interrupted before the screen cut off as she abruptly hung up the phone.

The professor froze for a moment, surprised by the reaction. "What was that about?" Oak asked. He thought he'd ask Daniel after they got the work they needed done first. As worrisome as this was, the lab had to come first, and Daniel looked as if he wanted to do everything he can to separate his work form his personal life.

After having eaten, Professor Oak showed Daniel around on what needed to be done. Most of what he was doing was merely feeding pokemon. At first it seemed easy, taking carts of the food out to various pokemon on the range. The only reason it took so long was because there were so many.

The Geodude that Daniel had saved the other day followed Daniel and the professor around for awhile. The rock pokemon looked concerned at Daniel. Even though Daniel seemed to be moving well, he seemed to have a thousand yard stare, as if he was only half awake. When Daniel finally offered the rock-type some food, it only shook its head, declining it.

"That Geodude seems fond of you," the professor told him. Daniel just nodded absently as he continued to walk towards the next herd of pokemon. Oak frowned at this. Daniel was more out of it than he let on. Then the professor noted something seemed to be walking towards them. It looked like a massive cross between a cat and a bear. It looked rather happy as it approached and Daniel wasn't paying attention to it. "Look out!" the Professor warned.

Daniel and the cart of the remaining food suddenly bumped into something soft yet large. He fell to the floor and the cart tipped over, spilling the food on the ground. He looked up at the massive pokemon who seemed to consider Daniel along with the food. "A...Snorlax?" Daniel asked.

"Get away!" a voice shouted. Without warning, a torrent of rocks rained down on the Snorlax, the force actually knocking it down. Daniel looked back at where the attack came from and seeing the glaring Geodude. "You can be patient and get your food later..." the rock-type growled.

"It's fine," Daniel told it. "You can lay off the attack. It didn't mean any harm."

The professor seemed impressed by what he saw. _That Geodude's Rock Slide was powerful. Why did it let a bunch of kids mess with it yesterday?_ he asked himself.

"Sorry, Professor. I messed things up badly..." Daniel apologized as he slowly got up, looking around at the food scattered across the ground. The Snorlax started shoveling a lot of it into its mouth.

"Hardly, that wasn't your fault. You seem to be tired anyway. We'll go get lunch soon anyway," the old man told him.

"It's already that time? I lost track," Daniel looked down and shook his head as he noticed his own shadow had shrunk from this morning's lower sun.

"Time tends to pass pretty quickly while working," the Professor told him, patting him on the shoulder. "You honestly lasted a lot longer than I thought you would."

"Told you, I'd last if I kept moving." Daniel just shrugged but he wasn't very convincing with the way he seemed to stare blankly.

"Yeah, until you walk into a Snorlax. How could you not see him coming?" Rocker asked, only heard by the professor as nothing more than various combinations of grunts of its own name.

"I'm not sure. Everything was a blur at that point," Daniel scratched the back of his head.

"I didn't say anything. Were you talking to that Geodude?" the Professor asked.

Daniel didn't think twice about how odd it looked. His head was as much of a blur as it could be. "Yes, I was. Is there a problem?"

_Just what I need. He's hallucinating,_ Oak thought to himself. The Professor helped pick the cart back up. "Let's go get lunch. After that, you need to rest." Daniel could only nod in response. That wasn't a request, that was an order. At this point, Daniel could not argue. He felt like crashing and sleep deprivation was kicking his butt.

After having a quick lunch, Daniel had literally crashed on the couch in the Professor's study. Oak was not going to complain at the time. The boy looked like he desperately needed it. He took the opportunity to continue more reports on his studies while out in the field. Other than the boy's breathing, the day seemed peaceful enough for at least a few hours, the silence providing the quiet he need as the clicking on his keyboard dominated the room.

It had gotten into the evening hours when Professor Oak heard a knock on the front door. He got up from his computer and approached the door, curious as to who would be here now. When he opened the door, Ryna was standing on the doorstep looking distressed. "Professor, where's Daniel?" Ryna asked.

"Calm down, Ryna. He's fine. He's asleep on my couch right now," the professor told her. "What's wrong?"

"When I went to his house, his mother slammed the door in my face when I asked about him," she told the older man, practically pushing her way into the lab as the professor took a couple of steps back. "I heard rumors of Daniel leaving his home last night. Did he come here last night?"

Professor Oak shook his head. "He didn't arrive until this morning, earlier than expected. He looked tired but assured he'd be fine."

"And you honestly believed it?" Ryna asked, glaring at the older man.

"No...but what could I do? He was headstrong about working. I would have sent him home, but it didn't seem like a good idea either."

Ryna looked down for a moment, as if contemplating something. "Sorry, professor. You did the right thing."

Professor Oak smiled. "You're worried about him. That's understandable, Ryna. He needs you more than anything now."

Ryna paused for a moment as the professor's words sunk in. "I wish I could take him with me. He's going to be bored sitting around here."

"Really, there's nothing holding him back from leaving. Just because he can't train pokemon doesn't keep him here," the Professor told her. "However, it wouldn't be good for him to leave without a goal."

"Daniel's just been like that as long as I've known him," Ryna explained. "He always seemed bored but never had a dream of his own."

"Well, he's dreaming now," the professor chuckled. "Though, I wonder if he wasn't while we were out. He even hallucinated talking to that Geodude he saved."

Ryna froze for a moment, wondering if it would be a good idea to tell the Professor about Daniel's little talent. "That wasn't...a hallucination."

The professor looked at Ryna curiously. Ryna only looked back as if Oak hadn't gotten the clue. "Wait, he can understand pokemon like you can?"

Ryna nodded. Oak was among the few people that knew she could pull the same thing. "Please don't tell Daniel I told you though. I promised to keep it a secret. He got tormented enough without people knowing that."

The professor was about to say something when he heard a loud yawn from the opened the door to the study to check in on him. Daniel had been sitting up on the couch with a confused expression on his face. When he saw Oak looking at him, he nearly jumped. "I'm sorry, Professor, I didn't mean to fall asleep...I...I..."

"Daniel, obviously you needed it," the old man said with concern in his tone. Ryna had followed the old man and peeked around the corner. "However, you owe us an explanation."

"Us?" Daniel asked, looking up at the professor, then noticing Ryna right behind him. "Oh..." Daniel buried his head in an open palm. The professor walked in and sat on one of the neighboring couches. Ryna next to Daniel.

"Daniel, what happened last night?" Ryna asked.

"Mom'll tell you she kicked me out. I would say I walked out. It was kind of a mutual agreement on that one," Daniel explained, never removing his head from his hand. "Needless to say, I'm not welcomed back, not that I want to."

"And you were gone all night?" Ryna asked surprised. Daniel looked at her with a confused expression. Ryna sighed, realizing Daniel wouldn't have known about the rumors. "Word gets around fast here."

Daniel shook his head. "Figures, people are just too bored here." Then he looked between the two. "I couldn't leave town since I was expected to help with work here. I just wandered before finding a spot to train for a while. I didn't have a place to sleep and I wanted to burn off all the frustrations from what happened."

Ryna looked a little mad, like she felt betrayed. "You could've come to my house! Mom and I would've..."

"No..." Daniel interrupted her. "She wouldn't allow it, remember?"

Ryna nodded before looking down. The previous night, her mother seemed glad when she told her Daniel got expelled from school last night. The woman refused to believe that Daniel wasn't a bully.

"It still would've been better than staying up all night," Professor Oak finally spoke up. Oak rubbed his chin for a moment then looked over at him. "I spoke with your mother this morning. One of the things she told me was that you were never her son. What was that about?"

Daniel looked down. "She rudely informed me I was adopted, as if using it as an excuse to get rid of me."

"So what?" Ryna asked. "It's not that big of a deal. She still adopted you. Why?"

"What does it matter? The reason she threw it out was stupid in the first place. I honestly don't care."

"Well, that explains what happened. So what are you going to do now?" The professor asked, trying to anticipate what his answer would be.

"I don't know. I need to find some means of settling somewhere, but after that..." Daniel just shrugged as if that finished his sentence.

The professor shook his head. Daniel knew how to take care of himself but he didn't know where he wanted to go. "You can stay here, Daniel. I need as much help as I can get right now, and it would be more convenient for you."

"I don't want to impose, Professor. I..." Daniel started.

"It's not a problem, but I do have one condition," the Professor looked at him seriously. Daniel fell into one of his blank looks, the same one he gave when expecting a punishment. "You are to take the exam to get your trainer's license. You will study for it during your free time if you need to."

Daniel's eyes widened. "But...professor. You know I would never be allowed to train pokemon even if my life depended on it."

"Who do you think I am, Daniel? Among the officials, I have more influence than any official." Oak pointed out, reminding them that his prestige as a professor of pokemon made his opinion worth more.

Daniel just gawked at the professor, then looked back at Ryna. Ryna just smiled at his expression and nodded, as if she had been waiting on this. "All right. I'll do it then," Daniel said as he turned back to the professor. "If you can get me in."

Daniel had lost track of time, but he figured at least a week had passed since he started living in the lab. On top of doing the various hard labor chores, the Professor had entrusted him with monitoring his experiments. It didn't take much, just watching over an item or reading some kind of meter. It wasn't the most difficult job, but Daniel always found some interesting things as he did so.

"Daniel," the professor walked into the room Daniel was reading yet another meter on. "I can take things from here. You go rest. Your exam is tomorrow."

Daniel looked up at him with the last sentence with a bit of surprise. Like Daniel had expected, his application to take the exam fell under resistance. However, like the professor said, he got Daniel in anyway. The professor had actually ripped apart every objection that was sent his way and went over the officials' heads. "Let me get the readings on this last one, Professor."

Daniel wrote down the number the meter read before handing the notebook to the professor. "Here's the numbers. Need me to throw anything together for dinner?"

"Just make yourself something. I'm fine for now," Oak responded. Daniel shrugged it off and left the lab room and into the main entrance hall, heading into the kitchen.

A knock on the door got Daniel's attention. He walked up to the door and opened it only to see Craig and Tyler standing in front of the door. Tyler looked terrified while Craig just looked on in surprised. "What are you doing here?" Craig asked with a glare.

"Working for the professor, you got a problem with that?" Daniel returned the glare. "What do _ you_ want?"

"Believe it or not, _ we_ have business with the professor, so get out of our way, retard," Craig shot back, pushing Daniel off to the side. As Craig walked past, he looked back at the boy. "I heard some rumor about you taking the trainers' exam."

"And?" Daniel asked. "So what if I am?"

"I'm surprised they let you in, dumbass."

"I'll be right behind you, mama's boy," Daniel glared.

Craig flinched as if Daniel had struck a nerve. Then, he gave the boy a sharp glare that promised death. "If we cross paths, I'll crush you," Craig growled.

"I'd like to see you try," Daniel told him. However, Craig's glare at him slightly unnerved him. Craig may have been a jerk, but there had never been that much malice in him.

"You two, don't start a fight in here," Professor Oak spoke up as he entered the room.

"He's not worth it anyway," Daniel told him, walking off to the kitchen. He figured getting something to eat would help him calm down. He had too important of a day to waste his time with the brat. He couldn't help but notice Tyler's glance at him, as if wanting to say something, but not wanting to speak up in front of everyone. Tyler seemed to have remained silent the whole time, not wanting to get caught between the two. Daniel just shrugged it off, not wanting anything to do with either of the boys. He believed Tyler was just as guilty as Craig anyway.


	3. Chapter 03: Fighting to Start

Chimera Saga: Forged Path  
Chapter 03: Fighting to Start  
By: Izumi Ryu  
Chimera Saga concept by: Theo 'Blitz' Leung  
Disclaimer: Pokemon characters, creatures, and settings belong to Nintendo, Game Freak, and others involved with the creation and promotion of the franchise. This is a fanwork with no intent of monetary gain. Original characters introduced in this story belong to the authors of the Chimera Saga collaborative series, in which the characters do require permission for use in other works.

* * *

Daniel found Ryna waiting outside the testing facility for him, the entryway having a few people still going about some business or another. The afternoon light casting shadows over the concrete, blocking out the sun's glare. Daniel nodded as he looked to her with a smile. "How'd it go?" Ryna asked, excited over the results of the licensing exam.

"Well..." Daniel started. "I met a lot of resistance, and they tried to make the test ridiculously hard." Then, he took out his wallet and showed her the license. "Keyword: tried. Turned out I was already a couple of steps ahead of them."

"Yes!" Ryna shouted as she hugged Daniel. Daniel nearly stumbled from the sudden jump but wrapped his arms around her, holding his best friend for a short time before she broke the hug. "We should tell Professor Oak."

Without much effort, Ryna grabbed Daniel's arm and started pulling him into the afternoon's heat. Daniel noticed he earned some strange glances from people around them as they raced through the streets of Pallet Town. Among them, a glare from a very familiar looking face. When Daniel tried to get a second glance, the person was gone. Daniel shrugged it off thinking he was seeing things.

"You know I can run on my own, right?" Daniel asked as he stumbled while trying to keep his balance while being pulled.

"Oh...right..." Ryna said before dropping her friend's arm and picking up her pace. "Race you to the lab."

"You're on," Daniel told her as he regained his balance and picked up his own speed. Sure, Ryna had a head start, but Daniel knew she'd need that head start to keep her lead. He started to slowly catch up to Ryna as they approached the uphill stairs to the lab. Ryna had already just started climbing and was a few steps ahead of Daniel.

While Daniel trained himself as a fighter, that included strength as well as speed. Running uphill required both. Daniel kicked it up several notches as he cleared multiple steps in each stride, easily catching up to the girl as they got close to the stop. With one more step, Daniel practically stomped onto the porch.

"Thought I had you for once!" Ryna told him.

"Hey, I don't go easy when I compete," Daniel shrugged. "You challenged me..."

"No wonder so many people don't like you," Ryna mock pouted. "You make it too hard for everyone."

"And if I held back, people would accuse me of toying with them," Daniel pointed out. "Not exactly any better, would you say?"

"I guess you're right," Ryna trailed off, still not happy with the answer. Ryna had accepted Daniel's competitive nature, but she still didn't like it. At least he doesn't seek out his challenges, but there would be a time he would have to let up.

"Professor?" Daniel called out as he opened the lab's front door and walked in.

"Daniel!" a Geodude suddenly jumped out to Daniel, catching him by surprise. Daniel caught the rock pokemon in his arms.

"Rocker... You gotta quit doing that," Daniel told him in an annoyed tone.

"You named him already?" Ryna asked. "Not the most imaginative name..."

"No, that was already his name." Daniel explained. "He told me that himself."

Ryna shook her head. If it was anyone else, she would've thought Daniel was crazy. "Well, he is an old pokemon. I supposed he'd appreciate that better," she told him. "It's a wonder he's not a Graveler yet, really."

"I've been wondering about that myself," Professor Oak interjected as he walked into the foyer, his lab coat showing black marks covering it in various parts.

"Hello, Professor," Ryna greeted., then she noted the burn marks in the professor's lab coat. "What happened to you?"

"A fire pokemon started to act up and burned my jacket. I'm fine otherwise." Oak reassured them. "I'm going to see what I can do about it. It's not like I'll be able to give it to a starting trainer."

"If you say so," Ryna said. Then, she told the professor, "Daniel got his license now."

"I knew he would once he got in. The test isn't that hard," Professor Oak told them.

"They tried to make it harder, it didn't work," Daniel said. "So does this mean I'll be able to leave with Ryna?"

The professor shook his head. "I'm afraid not. There's already three trainers for that group."

"Who are the other two?" Ryna asked.

"Craig and Tyler," Professor Oak told them.

"Figures, those two always have to cause Hell for me," Daniel shrugged. "What about Rocker? He seems to want to be around me so much."

"No matter how good you are, that Geodude may not even listen to you," the professor told him plainly. "He's so old, he could ignore you and be difficult to train and battle with. There's nothing wrong with him coming along, but it won't be a good idea to use him in battle until you get more experience."

"You're right," Daniel shook his head, understanding the point but still not liking it. "It was an idea."

"Besides, it'll give you time to figure out what you want," Professor Oak said. "It's not a good idea for you to leave without deciding what you want to do first."

"I've heard that one before," Daniel remarked. "It's frustrating to not know which way to go now."

"Even I've been there, Daniel. Did you think I woke up one day as a child and decided to be a researcher? Nope, it took several years of training and even a championship for me to decide that," Professor Oak told him. "You just need to know which direction to go for now."

"And what would you suggest I start with?" Daniel asked.

Professor Oak looked over Daniel. "I think you should start as a battler." Daniel looked like he was about to protest but the professor cut in. "While most trainers aspire to be battlers, very few are actually successful at it. The challenge for you would be working with your pokemon. You can't just think about their techniques, but how they prefer to fight and build close relationships with them. It's not as easy as it looks."

"Yeah, but there's only one path for battlers, isn't there?" Daniel pointed out.

"Hardly. Even as a battler, you do not have to challenge the Pokemon League or the gyms. There are other challenges to take. The League just happens to be the largest one."

Daniel looked straight into Oak's eyes. "Like what?"

"There are numerous dojos that you can train at. There's also athletic events you can train your pokemon for. There's numerous challenges for you, Daniel. You just have to look. You could even just go out into the world and train. There's nothing wrong with that."

* * *

Daniel's restlessness hadn't subsided after getting his license. In fact, his work was the only thing that kept it at bay at this point. Even when he didn't work, he was out in the range and training on some makeshift practice dummies. He seemed somewhat frustrated with Craig and Tyler delaying him, but the professor knew Daniel would get over it, especially once he finally got his first pokemon.

As the day Ryna would start her journey got closer, Daniel had started to pay closer attention to the work going on. The professor had received a new Charmander that would be a choice between the three pokemon. When he asked about the original one, Professor Oak just told him it was too wild.

"Aren't pokemon going to be like that when they start out?" Daniel asked.

"Yes, but the pokemon we have trainers start out with aren't normally like that. The pokemon could hurt a new trainer badly, whether it intended to or not."

"So you're judging the pokemon based on the few moments you saw it?" Daniel asked.

At that comment, Professor Oak knew to tread carefully. Daniel was intelligent despite how he looked. The professor was getting dangerously close to doing what people have done to Daniel. "Not really, but I would be hypocritical if I had allowed a pokemon like that out to a starting trainer. I normally wouldn't. The last time I did, the first thing it did was electrocute its trainer."

"Electrocute?" Daniel asked. "Wait, Ketchum's starting pokemon was a Pikachu, wasn't it?"

Oak nodded. "Yes, it took him awhile just to get him to build even the start of the relationship he has with Pikachu now. If it were any other trainer, they wouldn't have made it far."

"How did he get a Pikachu when the choices are normally a Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander?" Daniel asked.

"He was late to the pokemon selection, and he was desperate. Even if I had given him a Magikarp, he would've been happy. He was that type. He was dense, but at least he was persistent. That Pikachu became his most trusted and powerful pokemon."

Daniel wasn't originally thinking about the next question at first, but Professor Oak still should've seen it coming. "Why couldn't I start with that Charmander? You know I'm not normal."

The Pokemon Professor knew Daniel wasn't normal in more ways than one. However, he still couldn't risk it. "Because you two would be fighting each other your entire trip most likely."

Daniel smirked. "You're saying that as if it were a bad thing."

Oak just blinked. _He really wouldn't fight with a pokemon, would he ?_ Oak asked himself. Then, he realized Daniel liked fighting for the challenge. _He would..._ That was one of the scariest thoughts he could think of at the moment, and it gave him more of a reason to avoid giving that Charmander to him. "You may want to get to sleep, Daniel. We have an early morning tomorrow."

"Yeah, I know..." Daniel acknowledged before covering a yawn, having already had an early morning that morning.

* * *

The next morning was filled with most of the usual chores, except that Professor Oak had to leave Daniel alone so he could prepare for the next group of trainers. Daniel knew he would miss a lot of it. He was disappointed that he would miss Ryna getting her pokemon, but glad that Craig and Tyler wouldn't have the opportunity of rubbing the moment in his face.

"Daniel," Rocker called out as the Geodude came out from a back room of the lab.

Daniel looked up from feeding another group of pokemon as the Geodude approached. "Hey, Rocker. Where were you?" The morning was actually cool enough to force him to wear a jacket today, something Daniel would have to discard later as it heats up. To Daniel, it was just a sign of the change in seasons.

Rocker tossed Daniel a small ball. "Getting this for you." Daniel caught it, recognizing the half-red/half-white pattern of a pokeball.

"Did we forget to let one out?" Daniel asked, thinking it an odd thing. Professor Oak wasn't incapable of making mistakes, but he would've caught it by now.

Daniel just shrugged before pressing the button and expanding it, preparing to let the pokemon out. "No," Rocker finally replied with a smirk. The red light in the ball leaped out as it opened, materializing into a small red lizard. A small flame burned on the end of its tail. Daniel suddenly noticed that some of the pokemon in the area backed away from it, as if Daniel just released a horror.

"It's a Charmander," Daniel said, wondering what the big deal was. "Where'd you find him, Rocker?"

The Charmander turned to the boy, studying the human. Then, it gave Daniel a strange look. Was it anger? Hate? Daniel tried to figure it out, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. The flame lizard suddenly jumped toward Daniel, claws outstretched and ready to rake them across Daniel's skin. Daniel realized it and side-stepped the Charmander. "The Hell?" Daniel asked in surprise. The Charmander landed past the boy before swinging it's tail at him, sending small embers at the human and catching Daniel's jacket on fire. Daniel quickly ripped it off, letting the jacket burn on the ground.

"It wants a fight," Daniel said as the Charmander looked back towards him. Rocker looked like he was ready to jump in at any moment.

"Stand down, Rocker!" Daniel told the Geodude. "He just wants me. I'll be fine."

Rocker relaxed before calling out "Take him down, Daniel!"

The commotion had drawn the attention of others in the building. Craig, Tyler, Ryna and Professor Oak had already shown up to see the Charmander challenging Daniel. "What? Is he picking fights with pokemon now?" Craig remarked with a smirk, thinking he'd get to see Daniel finally get his butt kicked. The others were more surprised at the scene. Ryna even looked to Professor Oak in worry.

"No, that Charmander is quite confrontational. He's even burned me on occasion," Professor Oak told Craig. "How did he get out?"

"How else? Daniel probably tried to steal it out of jealousy," Craig told him plainly. "I'll call Officer Jenny for you...gladly."

"You will shut up for once, Craig," Tyler almost shouted, words that had earned surprised looks from Ryna and Oak.

Craig stormed up to Tyler and glared into his lackey's face. "What did you just tell me?" Craig growled.

"Get over yourself. You're the one that wanted to leave me behind. I'm not your lackey," Tyler glared back, showing the frustration that had built up over time.

"Boys," Ryna sighed. "No wonder why Daniel hates your guts."

Craig grit his teeth before turning away. "Whatever. I'm calling the police."

"There's no need," Professor Oak told him, stopping Craig in his tracks. "Just watch what's about to happen." Craig grudgingly turned around and silently watched the confrontation between human and pokemon. At least he'd enjoy watching Daniel get his butt kicked.

Daniel put his guard up, ready for the Charmander's attack. He started recognizing the expression it gave him. It was determination. The Charmander wanted a challenge, as it whipped its tail around. Was it trying to distract Daniel? Get him off guard?

The Charmander dashed forward before jumping, swiping at Daniel in an upward motion. Daniel leaned back as the claws whiffed past him. Daniel grabbed the Charmander's arm then slammed him down into the ground, pinning the lizard down with his free hand on its back. The lizard's tail, however, lashed down and tried to whip the flame against Daniel's hands. Daniel released his hold before it touched, allowing it to get on its feet.

"And I thought he was a freak before," Craig remarked. Before Craig knew what happened next, he felt a sharp pain across his face. He looked at Ryna who gave him a glare of contempt before turning away. "Fine, I'm taking my Squirtle and getting the Hell out of here." Craig stormed off. Tyler gave Craig one last glance before turning back to the fight.

Daniel took a couple of steps back, waiting for the lizard's next move. "Alright, Charmander, show me what else you have," Daniel muttered, staring at it with the same look of determination the pokemon gave him. It unnerved the Charmander for just a moment. What it saw was a spirit just as strong as his...or was it stronger?

At that moment, both combatants charged, the spectators feeling as if it was the last clash. The Charmander stuck one step before whipping its tail around, sending embers flying at Daniel. Much to the lizard's surprise, Daniel charged through them, the burns in his skin and clothing the only evidence that the attack hurt him.

Daniel took one final step forward and threw one punch, landing solidly against the lizard's face. The punch was enough to not only knock him to the ground, but to make him roll a couple of feet.

Daniel waited for the lizard to get up on its own power before walking up to it. As if sensing he was being approached, the lizard slowly pushed himself up off the ground, his pride not allowing himself to be helped. "You're good," the Charmander said. "I was hoping someone like you would come along."

"You gonna be okay?" Daniel asked.

"Hell, yeah..." the Charmander told him. "The name's Nash, what's yours?"

"Daniel," the boy told him, before being interrupted by the applause behind him. Daniel looked over his shoulder back at the remaining spectators, and surprised Tyler had stopped to watch even. Professor Oak walked out and towards Daniel.

"I was worried how that would turn out," Oak remarked. Daniel turned around to see him walking out towards him. "How did you get him? I thought he was stored well."

Nash stood as if ready to attack the professor. Oak stumbled back, preparing to be burned. Then, a hand shot out in front of the Charmander. "Stand down, Nash. It's okay," Daniel told him. Much to Oak's surprise, the Charmander listened to Daniel, relaxing, something it had never done before. Why now was beyond the professor. "I have no clue. Rocker just handed me his pokeball. I thought it was a pokemon we forgot to release."

"By all rights Daniel, I should put him back. He's too dangerous for a beginner." Nash growled at that, but Oak shook his head, clearing his throat. "But it looks like it respects you at least. You would be the best fit to be its trainer. I may have had my worries, but you proved yourself. That Charmander is yours."

Daniel blinked in confusion for a moment before turning to look at the Charmander. "If he chooses, I accept."

Nash nodded, "Do you think I'd pass up someone as strong as you?"

Oak nodded even though he couldn't understand the pokemon, he knew acceptance when he heard it.. "That settles it then. Take care of your pokemon as much as they take care of you. That goes for Rocker, too."

"Rocker?" Nash asked.

"He means me," the Geodude spoke up.

Nash looked disappointed. "That old guy is going with us? He'll just hold us back."

"I can still take you down without breaking a sweat," Rocker warned as the two looked like they were about to face off with one another.

"And...we'll work on that, too," Daniel remarked, noticing the two pokemon were not getting along.

Oak always worried about the trainers he sent off. Most treated the journey as a storybook adventure, a chance to get away from home. It was never simple. However, Oak could see Daniel's thoughts in his expression. Daniel appeared more like a warrior prepared to take on a challenge no matter the hardships. Perhaps, that was what bought Oak's trust the most.


End file.
